Sylvia Lovely is a storyteller and collector. In her early career as a CEO with two small children, she had little time for stories. Working as she did with local elected officials all over the state of Kentucky, however, that soon changed. Her mentor, Mayor Paul Smith of Burkesville, Kentucky, suggested that her job traveling around the state and visiting small towns must surely have produced great stories of the characters who would run for public office – “a little crazy and often colorful,” he said with a laugh. With a great big job and two small children that was well down the to-do list. Mayor Smith had the perfect solution – “keep notecards with you at all times and write down notes when you run across the stories – you’ll have time later to go through the cards and begin to write, tell and share the stories.”

The rest is history, as the saying goes. Sylvia has written three books, including one of them about the local extraordinary heroes she met during her travels. Though often labeled as crazy for their willingness to step into the line of fire of public service, she rejoiced at the stories of those willing to get up and do it every day. With stacks and stacks of notecards and challenged only with finding the time to tend to her own writing, she is committed and dedicated to helping others discover their own stories.

Sylvia often introduces herself as a lawyer by training, a CEO by experience and a media mogul in her dreams. She has a rich history in media as the author of three books, numerous articles and opinion pieces for a variety of publications. She is also in the restaurant business with Azur Food Group, owner of Azur Restaurant and Patio and The Lexington Diner. She has for ten years co-hosted Food News and Chews Radio with Chef Jeremy Ashby, Executive Chef of Azur Food Group and her business partner. She currently provides coaching and regular classes on the art of writing/telling the story for the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning and Good Foods Co-op Grocery and Community Center. She also works in other venues in pursuing her passion to encourage others to be storytellers.